


Prelude to DUSK

by ArisenFromNightmares



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bad Family Life, Drama, Gen, Prelude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-06-18 07:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15480435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArisenFromNightmares/pseuds/ArisenFromNightmares
Summary: In Vacuo's prestigious Shade Academy there lies a certain group of Huntsmen and Huntresses that have caught Ozpin's eye: A sniper with a heart of stone, a genius with "broken" mannerisms, an artist who values fantasy over reality, and a singer who embraces the stranger things while dancing through dangers. They are Team DUSK, and these are their trailers.





	1. Dust and Bullet Rain

_I walk this road to darkness of my own choosing_

_Silence is my blanket_

_Discipline, my pillow_

_All we have in this world is one shot, and one shot is all I need to end you._

 

The teal-haired girl would sigh as she stood alone in the moonlit desert as the sounds of howling and snarling could be heard in the distance, to most people in her situation they would be afraid, running for their lives, praying to their Gods.

Fear was the sweetest of scents to the creatures known as Grimm, they hone in on our fears like sharks flock to blood in the water and thus..the cowardly are always the first to die. But she was different from them, learning to quiet her fears at a young age helped her to learn to pay attention to the little details, to her surroundings as the darkness enveloped her young world and the stinking musk entered her nostrils once again.

"Block it out soldier, it'll only hold you back." The usually stoic Hunter would take a calming breath as she knelt down in a nearby sand dune and un-strapped the rifle from her back as the howls continued to get closer, setting up her tripod with a mechanical ease before setting her rifle down and lining up her shot at an incoming pack of Beowolves. "Two packs, one-hundred twenty yards away and closing in fast. Good thing I chose the scattershot clip." With a satisfied smirk from behind the scope she would pull the trigger, the noise from the shot piercing the veil of silence and watching through her scope as some of the Grimm would collapse in a heap as those that remained snarled in anger at the presence of an enemy. "Dammit Urien! I don't care what your "broken brilliance" is telling you, these rounds need more testing!"

Furious, she would load another round and pull the trigger and grit her teeth as a few more of the Grimm went down in a shower of sparks but there were still more coming down the way. "Sonova-!" A blast of wind would conjure up a small storm to obscure the creatures' vision and quickly started shifting her weapon into its double-edged glaive form and charged forward to slash her way through the incoming Grimm and reveling in their yowls of pain before spinning her weapon and cutting two more in half with a frustrated huff as more growls continued to draw closer, she was used to drooling, snarling beasts in her life as she took a step forward and the winds whipped up a sandstorm around her while closing her eyes and letting her mind drift back to the past.

"Don't you turn your back on me you little whore!" She could smell the scent of vodka in the air before her mother entered the room, it had been like this ever since her father had passed away. When mommy wasn't busy crying into her pillow during the night hours, she was always tipping back a bottle of her "adult beverage" or having "special time" with one of the strangers she would bring home. "I'm getting sick and tired of you traipsing around in your little outfits and trying to steal my men, it's bad enough that you got your father killed because you just HAD to have a birthday cake..you little shit."

She tried her best not to let her mommy's cold words get to her, biting down on her trembling lip so hard she began to draw blood.  _"I'm just a kid, I don't know what you're talking about mommy, I'm just..hungry."_  Her stomach would growl insistently for the nourishment that was being denied to her thanks to her mother's tantrums and spiteful nature. "Please mommy, I haven't eaten all day!" The little girl would look to her mother with big, pleading, lavender eyes. Only to receive an empty vodka to the side of her face, screaming in agony as she felt the shards of glass dig into her face as she hit the floor and curled up into a ball even as her mother towered over her with the remains of the busted bottle in hand.

* * * * *

"Ungrateful little wretch, after all the vile I things I do to afford that food, you have the audacity to demand I cook for you!?" The older woman would grin maliciously as she brought down the jagged bottle upon her frightened daughter's body, enjoying the screams of pain that pierced through the silence of the night..

Back in the present, the windstorm had built into a massive twister that was now beginning to gather up her enemies into the air as they yowled in surprise. _"I hated my mother for everything she did, but..it was thanks to her that I became such a great markswoman."_  With a sadistic smile she would change her glaive back into its rifle form and begin firing the normal Dust rounds she always brought with her, growling as she looked through the weapon's sights and began opening fire on the helpless Grimm with a burst of gleeful laughter as the shots ripped through their darkened forms like a hot knife through butter. As soon as the last of the creatures disappeared she felt the hollow emptiness in the pit of her stomach that usually followed the completion of a mission, sliding on a pair of goggles before letting the winds carry her back to the relay point as her mind reflected upon what remained of that very night that created her.

She had never known such pain like this, no girl her age should know this kind of agony as the red ooze leaked from the various cuts upon her body.  _"Why mommy? Why are you so angry with me?"_ She would continue to sob quietly as the sound of sirens began to fill the air, their front door would burst open as men in sleek black uniforms flooded the room, most of them swarming over her mother and ripping the bloody bottle from her hand while she screamed words completely foreign to her young mind. "I thought family was supposed to be happy together, not like this…" She would look up to see one of the black-suited figures kneeling over her, bright red lights examining her every wound as she shuddered in terror.

"My God…she shouldn't even be alive with this much blood loss. Get the paramedics in here! We've got a critical situation!" The panic in the masked man's voice would help her to keep from slipping into the darkness, fighting to keep her eyes open as she looked up to see her savior removing his mask. "You're going to be alright little one, you won't have to see this witch anymore after tonight." The man's voice was surprisingly gruff for someone with such an honest looking face, her remaining eye locking onto the name displayed on her suit: Aikner.

She would burn this name into her heart and eventually take it as her own, gone was the little girl who cowered at the sight of a vindictive, drunk sow of a mother. And after intensive surgery on her body that gave her new flesh, another that would give her a mechanical eye that enabled her to see things from a blood red perspective, and so many psychiatrists that did her best to repair her fractured view upon the world. But she would find solace in the man who would eventually come to be her second father, Verde Aikner of Vacuo's Emergency tactics division would give her a renewed purpose as he allowed her to explore the world around her.

Teaching her to channel her hatred toward Mommy with their trips to the shooting range, her special eye helping to aid her accuracy from long distances. He would even give her a new name: Daisy. After the flowers she adored so much, those very flowers being the first thing she would see upon waking up from a six year long nightmare.

* * * * *

"Welcome back Miss Aikner, I trust that the exercise went according to expectations?"

She would nod without doing much else, her mind was exhausted from glimpsing into the past, as well as holding in her frustration towards Urien Graves. The white-haired genius had promised her that the Scattershot bullets would wipe out groups of Grimm with a single bullet, clearly he had overestimated his latest creation by leaps and bounds.

"Get us back to Shade, I have to see a man about faulty bullets…"

The pilot would nod and lift the Bullhead off of the sand-covered deserts with nary a sound as she finally dug into her pockets and dug out a pack of cigarettes with a satisfied sigh, only to find that her lucky lighter had gone missing. "Shit..I really liked that lighter too."

A gruff chuckle would be heard across from the irritated Huntress, followed quickly by the smell of alcohol entering her nostrils. "It's a bad habit for you anyhow kid, besides you can't be much of a Huntress if you're too busy sucking wind." The stranger's voice would shatter whatever calm that Daisy had been feeling up to that point, reaching for her rifle only to find it missing from the seat next to her.

"Yeah, I'd like these introductions to be generally blood free." A gruff looking man with black hair and a three day stubble would be sitting across from the startled Huntress, his red eyes examining her rifle curiously as he did. "It's impressive alright, but you should really learn to automize the transformation process." He would pop the butt of her rifle, revealing part of her glaive with a disapproving frown. "My 15 year old niece did a better job with her rifle, you've got a lot to learn…"

She would snarl as the stranger continued disassembling her weapon with more hums of disapproval, her fists balled tightly as she was forced to watch such an atrocity.

"Who are you, and how the fuck did you get on my ship!?" The stranger would simply hold up a finger as he drank from a silver flask, putting it down and holding out his free hand.

"Name's Qrow, and your Headmaster sent me to retrieve you from this desert hell." He would keep his hand help out, even as Daisy refused to shake it with a noticeable scowl.

"Suit yourself, doesn't change the fact that we've been asked to retrieve your teammates and bring you together." Qrow would continue to examine her rifle without saying another word, leaving the still confused sniper as to why someone would take an interest in Team DUSK. Especially since they had a tendency to split up whenever there was a break in their schooling.

"You're not gonna have as easy a time locating the others like you did me, why would you even want to? We're nobodies." She would reflect upon the remaining members of her team with slight distaste: A mad genius whose "broken brilliance" often brought them more problems then it solved, the artist who seemed to enjoy the worlds in his sketchbook more than the world around him, and the Idol who was so bubbly that it made her sick to her stomach. "Well smart ass, you gonna answer me or what?"

The man known as Qrow would simply grin as he finished reassembling her Lightbreaker and began making notes in his scroll. "In due time kiddo. All good things in due time."


	2. Underneath a Broken Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOME "Broken" Matt Hardy references incoming.  
> You have been warned!

**_They say if you stare into the abyss, that it'll eventually stare back at you_ **

**_Long have I stared into such darkness,_ **

**_So much so that it hath rendered me Broken_ **

**_But there is brilliance, even in objects that lay destroyed_ **

**_All it takes to find it is a loving hand_ **

**_And plenty of patience._ **

 

The music was the first thing that Ozpin noticed as he walked the halls of Shade Academy's Black dorm, it intrigued the Beacon Headmaster that this school's halls were ranked by color, with the most elite students placed in brightly color coded dorms while the chaff were reduced to leaving in the bleaker end of the spectrum.

And truly there was no color quite as bleak as Black Dorm.

"Shit, Graves is off his meds again. Someone call Headmaster Carmine, tell him to prepare for the weirdness!" One student would quickly slip past Ozpin as he inched closer towards the source of the melodic music, wondering why the student body was acting like they were prepping for a Doomsday scenario despite such a masterpiece being played from the dorm room ahead of him. "The Headmaster's not picking up, everybody go to plan B: Get your dorm mates back ASAP because we're going full on Lockdown in ten minutes people!" A female student would plow into Professor Ozpin and let out an eep! in surprise as she looked up at the spectacled man in fright, her doe eyes widened in terror as she scrambled to her feet and mumbled an apology before rushing past him and into the waiting arms of a rather tall redheaded young man.

"Just what in blazes is going on?" He would stop a rather lovely doe Faunus who was carrying a rather large broadsword and look at her questioningly, ignoring the feral look in her topaz eyes as she prepared to level the sword at him. "Excuse me young lady, but I'm curious: Just why is everyone around here in such a panic over a simple piano tune?"

The Faunus would lower her weapon and look at the silver-haired man like he had suddenly sprouted extra heads from his shoulders. "You're..not from around here are you?" The deadpan look she would receive from Ozpin was enough to make the young woman choose her next words very carefully. "Sir, with all due respect. If you value your life then I suggest you stay away from the piano music, that's DUSK's dorm..and anytime we hear the piano being played from inside that place, it's a sure sign that egghead Urien Graves is off his meds and hearing those weird voices of his again."

Ozpin would feel his brow furrow in concern as he waited for her to continue speaking, finally deciding to take it upon himself to continue the conversation. "And just what do these voices tell him Miss?" He would hold out his free hand to her, only to watch as she stepped back from him without saying another word as he fixed his gaze back upon what he now knew as the dorm belonging to Team DUSK. "And of course Carmine would send me to his outcasts, I feel like I've lived this exact situation once already" With a hefty sigh he would make his way into the dorm by pushing the door open with his cane, wincing at the audible squeak that was heard and the sudden stop from the piano's music as he stepped past the threshold.

"Master Ozpin, we knew you'd come." A student with a shock of white hair would stand up from the piano bench, his hands quickly becoming bound by blood red glyphs until they resembled an old fashioned stockade. "The Maidens Four, have spoken to me! They prophesized that you would come for me and my broken brilliance!" He would smile sadistically as he calmly walked towards Beacon's Headmaster, his grin turning into a maddening cackle as he gestured to a blackboard riddled with complex equations.

Ozpin would calmly make his way to the blackboard and examine the series of scribbles and oddball symbols that rested there, not knowing how best to approach the boy logically he would instead decide to play into his madness. "Then clearly you should be aware that the Maidens have asked for all the members of Team DUSK, not just you oh Broken one." He would watch carefully as the young man known as Urien Graves would start mumbling to himself in a variety of strange languages while looking around the dorm room in a slow circle.

"Why, why would the Maidens Four require the assistance of a cold-blooded task mistress, a worthless tart, and that obsolete mule of an arteest?" The slightly deranged Huntsman in training would frown in deep thought, as if he were consulting the many voices residing in his head. "Ahhh-h-h-h, the Maidens must have sent you to test my faith. I am to show them that my Broken Brilliance can outshine any sort of Team Unity, come with me Master Ozpin so that I may show you my menagerie of Machiavellian machinations that will soon enable us to win the war with these Grimm creatures!" The pale-haired madman would fold his arms behind his back as Ozpin simply raised an eyebrow in part curiosity, part agitation before falling in step behind the still muttering Huntsman in training.

"Mister Graves, your Headmaster has spoken highly of your above average intelligence, and I must say that tune I heard as I approached your dormitory was quite astounding to hear." Ozpin would keep a calm and icy demeanor as the hallway they were walking through began to darken with each passing step, his veteran instincts telling him to be prepared for anything even as the young man in front of him simply chuckled nonchalantly.

"Don't tell me that someone as well-traveled as you could have such a base fear of something as harmless as darkness." Urien would turn around and hold out his arms invitingly. Perfectly aware that the spectacled man couldn't see so much as his hand in front of his face. "Headmaster, Nyctophobia is so unbecoming of a man of your station. For you are supposed to inspire confidence in your soldiers, and fear in your enemies!" The so-called "Broken One" would reach into his scroll and smile suspiciously as his scroll illuminated the area as he dialed up someone on his scroll as Beacon's headmaster watched on curiously, taking note of the sudden change of expression on the young man's face as it morphed into a deep scowl. "Obsolete mule! Prepare the research area, I have a guest who insists upon seeing the Machinations of my Broken Brilliance!" The scowl on Urien's face would only deepen as he listened to his "mule's" response before letting out a contentious snarl. "Five minutes is not enough to properly convince my Guest of the greatness that I have brought together over-"

Graves would wince in pain as he received a sharp retort to his rantings, causing the Headmaster to wonder just how much of a backbone this so-called mule had. "You do realize that chasing your Gwendolyn won't make you feel any better for what happened, she isn't real…and no amount of searching will yield a proper match for-" Any response that the pale-haired Huntsman would be nixed as a door would appear in a flash of light, along with a bright neon timer that was frozen at five minutes exactly. "Cursed mule, come Master Ozpin we don't have much time for a proper tour of my creations. So I propose we skip to the main event before my mule decides to have a change of heart, and leave us trapped here forever." He would open the door with a heavy groan as Ozpin followed behind him in silence, not expecting the two of them to suddenly be transported to a lush, forested area that reminded him of the more peaceful areas of Vale.

"Tell me something Urien, why do you insist on calling your teammate a Mule? It seems rather derogatory to your overall dynamic as a Team, especially since I had heard that Team DUSK tend to work well together despite your..differences." Ozpin couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched from the shadows of the trees, catching glimpses of an azure light every so often. "Carmine seemed insistent that with some proper seasoning that the four of you could prove to be as good of a unit as one of the teams from Beacon Academy." Again this would only serve to illicit a laugh from the pale-haired young man who would look up at the clock absentmindedly, half a minute had passed since they had begun their march and it didn't seem to phase him too much as he pondered the Headmaster's words.

"I refer to that deranged artist as a mule due to the fact that he is good at completing menial tasks that are asked of him, all that he wishes for in exchange is to be left alone with his drawings in peace." Graves would sigh as he held up his hands in defiance as he contemplated just what his peculiar teammate would be doing at the moment to allow them such a brief window into his world. "However the mule is not the only fly in my ointment: There is Daisy Aikner, the cold-hearted she-witch who dares to try and treat us like a military unit, just because it seemed to work so well for her as a child. Then there's the tart Kale Prisma, you might know her better as the Mistralian pop idol Kaylee Haze. It's not exactly my favorite choice of stage names but apparently I'm too crazy to make those kinds of decisions!" He would be seething by the time they had stopped walking, finding themselves standing before heavily reinforced cages where the young Huntsman would marvel at his creations: Pale white beasts that vaguely resembled the Grimm, only their movements weren't as fluid as their counterparts.

"Beautiful aren't they, I refer to them as "Erasers": Beings capable of completely obliterating Grimm without the need for relying on such primitive methods such as Dust, Huntsmen or Huntresses."

Ozpin would only look on in dumbfounded silence at the creature as it struggled to remain standing as it whimpered in agony before crumpling into a barely breathing heap, Ozpin would thank whatever deities existed that he could keep his rage from boiling over.

"Mister Graves, I must ask a very important question: Just how were these Erasers brought into existence?" The headmaster would ready his cane just in case things were to turn ugly, watching as the almond-eyed young man would smile at the obvious question as he tapped the side of the cage to revel in the pained groans of his creations. "I suggest you answer my question carefully Urien, for this could very well affect just how the two of us will proceed from this moment forward." Ozpin would look up to see the timer in the sky above them hitting the two minute mark and weighing out his options quickly, he had no doubt that he could overpower the young man and get them back to the door that allowed them access to this area.

"Master Ozpin, it appears that you are displeased with the fruits of my Broken Brilliance. I'll admit that the Eraser's are an incomplete project for right now, but once I perfect these Blight Hounds and unleash them upon the creatures of Grimm they will be rendered OBSOLETE!" The pale-haired student would emphasize this with a sweeping motion of his hand while Ozpin simply shook his head in disbelief at just how deep his conviction ran towards his inhumane little scheme, it was clear that this particular student needed to be stopped before things got out of hand.

"So you mean to replace the scourge of the Grimm with a different kind of madness altogether, I can't say that I approve of your thought process my boy." Ozpin would ready himself for a fight as the pale-haired boy snapped his fingers and a barrier would appear around him as the malformed beasts freed themselves from confinement and charged toward their creator. "And now you insist on hiding from your creations in the safety of yet another invention of your "brilliance", a truer definition of a coward if I ever saw one myself." The silver-haired veteran would sigh in disgust before dispatching of these pain-riddled creatures before turning his sights toward the student who created them, but rather than seeking any time of retribution for the destruction of his Erasers, Urien seemed rather impressed that he was able to even defeat them at all.

"That was wonderful Master Ozpin, simply  **delightful**  the way you've managed to dispatch my Blight Hounds!" The pale-haired youth would applaud the veteran Huntsman's abilities before taking a glance up at the clock in the skies above them, a sadistic smile appearing upon his face as he dispelled the barrier surrounding his person. "And with just enough time for a proper deletion of you and your heathanistic ways!" Urien would click the heels of his boots twice, savoring the clicks and whirs of the gears in his greaves coming alive as the less than stable Huntsman-in-training readied himself for a fight.

* * * * *

Back in the Bullhead above Vacuan airspace, Daisy would be disgruntled as Qrow finished explaining the situation that required such strenuous travel for a Huntsman of his nature.

"…I can't believe that moron Carmine would sign off on this lunacy, we may be one of the Headmaster's little pet projects but we're still students. And we're on the low end of the Goddamn totem pole in terms of hierarchy! Team HALO, Team BLZE, Team LIME! Fucking Team BRNZ for crying out loud!" The teal-haired Huntress would groan as she began to massage her temples in order to try and alleviate the stress that was bow pounding at her skill. "But nooo, he has to go and draft the literal bottom of the barrel that is the Black dorm and call upon Team DUSK..my team!"She would hiss in annoyance as Qrow simply took another long swig from his flask as he watched the infuriated sniper fume in the seat across from his before giving her a wistful smile and envisioning his nieces sitting next to the woman

 _"She's got Ruby's penchant for weaponry and sniping, as well as Yang's fiery temper. I swear if I didn't know my teammates so damn well then I'd swear she was one of theirs."_  The always drunken scythe wielder would cross his arms and close his eyes to catch a quick nap before they landed in Vacuo, the first thing he would see as he began to dream was the ghostly white cloak that belonged to a friend now lost to death.  _"Dammit Summer, if only you had told us..told me something. I would have gone with you, I could've-"_  His dream pleas would be interrupted by a sudden string of curses in a foreign language as the teal-haired sniper looked down at her scroll in fury.

"Pilot, get a move on! We need to get back to Shade NOW!" Daisy Aikner would snarl as she looked through her ammo pouches hurriedly, ignoring the questioning look on her unwelcome guest's face. "I told that idiot to run the bigger uses by me before doing anything- there they are!" She would hold up an ammo clip containing vials with a bronze colored liquid inside them, quickly loading them up before the now-awake Qrow could question their contents. "Strap in old timer, because we've got less than a minute to save my idiot partner from being trapped all the way on Menagerie with no way back!"

This would cause the drunk to sit up straight as his mind remembered just where the hell they were currently, and while they were already close to Shade Academy, even at top speed there was no conceivable way that the Bullhead would be able to make it to the Faunus occupied continent in under sixty seconds. "How the hell did they end up in Menagerie, Ozpin said Graves was holed up inside Shade for weeks!" This would earn a deadpan look from the Huntress he had been sent to draft into Ozpin's latest scheme, watching her smirk as she strapped into her seat. "You people really need to do your research better."

The bullhead would pick up speed as the boosters engaged and threw the startled Qrow back into his seat as he stifled a groan of pain.

* * * * *

Ozpin expected at least some resistance when confronting the mind-addled young man, but he wasn't expecting this kind of disaster as Urien leapt from atop the platforms he had created for footholds with an outstretched kick covered in Aura causing the spectacled man to generate his own barrier in order to defend himself before blasting the youth away and rushing forward to attack with his cane in a series of rapid fire strikes. Only to find his blows hitting a pink-shaded wall that his opponent created, and then grimacing in pain as those same blows were rebounded back at him with twice the force that caused the man to skid back and reassess the situation.

 _"Interesting, his barriers not only act in a defensive manner but can reflect any damage back to them with added force."_  The silver-haired veteran would glance up at the timer with some concern as forty-five seconds remained, clearly whatever his teammate was doing for Graves came with a price and a time limit as he remembered the door they came through. "Mister Graves, I recommend that we cease this useless squabbling and return to Shade immediately. I would rather we not get stranded in this area before I have a chance to explain the situation in full."

Urien however would just cackle as he sped forth to deliver a barrage of kicks to Beacon's headmaster, growling as his blows were parried with blistering speed and jumping back to avoid retribution. "I do not care about your reasons for seeking my Broken Brilliance, it is clear that you and I don't see the same vision that the Maidens have laid out for us!" He would grit his teeth as he felt the tension heightened with each passing second, he needed to defeat this man and return to the door before it disappeared. "Curse that Obsolete Mule for giving us such a short timeframe, as of this moment you can both consider yourselves DELETED!"

The pale-haired young man would snarl as he charged forth to attack the Headmaster once again, only to stop short as he slumped forward suddenly into a mangled heap as Ozpin looked around to find that his ally Qrow was now entering the field in a full-out run as he glanced over at the spectacled man with a sharp grin.

"Get a move on Oz, we don't exactly have time for a chat right now." He would scoop up the unconscious Urien before pulling an about face and making towards the door with Ozpin in toe, his brow furrowing as he caught sight of a teal-haired Huntress standing by the door with a rifle slung across her back. "Nice shot kid."

She would ignore Qrow's compliment before following the pair through the door, taking care to pluck the needle from her teammate's neck before Ozpin noticed anything about it as a loud chime could be heard behind them as the door exploded in a thousand specks of light and they found themselves back inside the confines of DUSK's dorm with a shared sigh of relief.

"Now would someone please explain just what in the world is going on: How were we transported from this dorm to that area? Nowhere in Urien's dossier did it mention teleportation as a Semblance." Ozpin would bring up the dossier that Headmaster Carmine had sent to him and begin skimming through it without saying much else, meanwhile Qrow would simply look on as Daisy tried to shake the young man awake before sighing and resorting to straight up slapping the tan-skinned young man.

"Uhhnn..wait in blazes- Ow!" The pale-haired genius would forcefully shove the slap happy Huntress away from him before bolting upright in the bed. "Aikner, what the hell are you doing back? Weren't you supposed to be training all day?"

The ruby-eyed sniper would glare at him with animosity before tossing the remaining Scattershot clip into his waiting lap with a growl.

"It's night you stupid dumbass! By the way, your stupid rounds need more testing." Daisy would make her way to the door of the dorm while muttering curses in that same foreign language as she grabbed the handle, stopping mid-curse before turning back to spare him one final glare. "Stop skipping on your meds Uri, or else I'll have to have a word with Mother Superior!" With that final statement she would leave the dorm with an exaggerated slam of the door, leaving the three remaining individuals in a stupefied silence until the offending Huntsman in question finally decided to get off of his bed and smooth out the shock of his hair as best he could.

"I have no idea who you two gentleman are or even why you're here, but you do have my thanks for finding Aikner and getting her back here." Urien would give them a calm bow before making his way to the dining area and putting the silver tea kettle on the stove, his brow furrowing as he lifted the kettle again. "I could've sworn I filled the kettle up this morning before Aikner headed out, curious.."

Qrow and Ozpin would exchange looks of befuddlement before the scythe wielder would clear his throat in order to get the young man's attention, Ozpin would keep a straight face as he noticed that the glimmer of madness in his almond eyes was completely gone and in its place was a calm and tranquil sea of honey.

"Mister Graves, my name is Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy. I've come here to discuss a matter of great importance with yourself and the rest of Team DUSK, do you have any idea where they might be located?" He would look to Qrow who was currently distracted by an incoming message on his scroll before deciding to step outside to deal with whatever it was.

"I'm sorry Professor, I would love to answer your question in full but I feel an apology might be in order for what I'm assuming was my latest "shift" to my Broken alter-ego" He would smile curiously as he noticed the man's raised eyebrow of skepticism as he moved to fill the kettle with water. "It's been a persistent problem that I've had to deal with since childhood, my parents were overjoyed to discover that in less than a year I was able to speak proper English. So much so that they started feeding me other languages, then math books and so on and so forth." Satisfied with the water residing in the kettle, Urien would continue to check the cabinets for the rest of the ingredients for a proper cup of tea. "At first they used childish games to help further my hunger for knowledge and learning: bits of cereal for counting, puppets to help with vocabulary, and various other gimmickry. But once the subjects reached beyond the realm of what puppets could convey, I suppose that was when they decided to tip their hand."

"That was when they decided to shift their role from parental figures to unrelenting task masters I assume?" Ozpin would keep a stoic expression on his face, though the hand gripping his cane would tighten somewhat as he spoke. This wasn't the first time he had found himself hearing the sad past of a student, he had heard several during his time as a teacher of Beacon Academy. Even now his thoughts would shift to a troubled wolf Faunus that no doubted waited for him back home. "They decided to push the limits of your genius with ever-mounting course work, unaware of the cracks that were building until-"

The pale-haired Huntsman would slam the cabinet door sharply interrupting Ozpin's tirade, facing the man with an ashen expression on his face as he held the contents of a plastic pouch labeled "Tea Mix- Urien" firmly in his hand. "At eight years old, I had finally snapped and the "Broken Boy" was born, as as it was explained to me by Sister Sapphire: one day I had decided to walk up to my own mother and toss her freshly made coffee into her lap, when my father decided to come after me instead of checking on his wife I attacked him with a paring knife." He would sigh and empty the mix contents into the waiting kettle and setting it onto the stove before turning it on and staring at his expression in the well-maintain kettle.

"And instead of taking me to a proper psychologist and hashing out proper medication, my father decided to beat me unconscious and leave me on the steps of the church to die." Urien would turn away from the kettle and face the headmaster directly as he took a seat on the nearby stool. "Luckily for me, the Sisters of the Sand are a merciful lot and took me in. Even when my unsavory half reared its demented head and bit the hand of Sister Jasper, they opted to bring in a specialist to prescribe me proper medication."

Ozpin would nod approvingly at this knowledge as he took a seat across from the pale-haired young man, watching as his hand drifted to a gold cross that hung around his neck. "Clearly religion has done a great deal for you Mister Graves, which makes me wonder: Why go to Shade, why learn to fight monsters? With your intellect, you should be in the labs of Atlas with other brilliant minds, not on the battlefield."

This would cause the honey-eyed young man to smile knowingly as the kettle began to whistle noisily, hopping off the stool to turn off the stove and wait for the kettle to cool.

"And there's the issue my dear Headmaster: What good are the discoveries of the intelligent whom stay sheltered inside ivory towers to those who know the true horrors of the Grimm?" He would sigh as he poured himself a cup of tea to steady emotions building within, feeling Ozpin's knowing gaze upon his back as he set down the kettle. "I would rather fight for those who would respect me for risking life and limb to protect them, rather then be lauded for coming up with a complex use for Dust or some great add-on for one of the military's weapons." He would sip the tea calmly before turning to face the silver-haired Headmaster with a look of deep concentration, taking a seat with his cup of tea in hand. "I may not bring much to Team DUSK compared to Aikner's penchant for cold, calculating discipline. Midori's fluid and ever-adaptive fighting style, or even Prisma's raw power. But I'd like to think that my logic keeps the team together on the battlefield, just like my barriers help keep us unharmed." The pale-haired young man would go quiet and look to Ozpin to finally say something, his emotions finally calming into a tranquil sea of serenity as the Headmaster seemed to finally crack a smile as he leaned forward in his own stool.

"Well my boy, you seem to have given me quite the story to digest on the Bullhead ride back. It feels only right that I give you one to mull over in return."


	3. Shadows of the Past

_Fantasy_

_A world of imagination that I call my own_

_Ethereal, and never quite real_

_Still, it brings me more warmth then the place I call home_

 

Sika would take several deep breaths as the door to Urien's research area was finally dispelled, grumbling quietly as he glared down at the illustration of the door on his sketchpad. "I hate when Urien goes off his meds, I am NOT A MULE!" The hooded young man contemplated tearing the page out of the pad, denying the madman access to his whacked-out wonderland and hopefully granting him a temporary peace from his many demands.

Especially since his laboratory happened to be located in Sika's former homeland of Menagerie, and that was a place that the rabbit Faunus never wanted to see again.

"He just had to pick that shithole, and knowing him: He did it just to frustrate me and please his imaginary "Maidens".

Sika would look down at the sword holstered at his waist and lay his hand on the hilt, finding solace in the hum of electricity that constantly ran through it as he bowed his head in prayer. His mind drifting back to darker days as the Faunus's prayer became more of a hymn to deities all his own.

In the run down slums of the Faunus-inhabited land of Menagerie, there was often very little to cherish and call one's own. People either had to be good at working with their hands, good with a weapon, or resort to other activities of the not-so legal variety.

For the rabbit-eared boy known as Sikyatavo, it meant that he had to watch as his mother spent a lot of time in the mirror making herself look pretty. He wasn't sure why, but his mother insisted that it helped keep the shabby roof they currently had hanging over their head.

* * * * *

"Okay Sika, today's a very big day for Mommy. This customer is quite wealthy, and with enough buttering up my can finally get out of this hovel and move to somewhere with a bit more leg room" The brunette-haired woman would take one final look at her dolled-up appearance and smile, satisfied with the rouge on her cheeks, the smoky eye shadow, and the velvet-colored dress she now wore. "You know what this means right? Go straight to Madam Belladonna's for dinner, no games until after you've finished your studies- Sika, are you listening?" His mother would look down and gasp as she saw the familiar wooden top spinning on the floor, her angelic features morphing into a scowl as she stepped on the toy. The younger bunny pouting as it disappeared in a trail of wisps, before receiving a slap to the cheek for his troubles. "Dammit Sikyatavo! If I told you once, I told you a thousand times:  **NEVER**  use your Semblance for such foolishness!"

Sika would whimper quietly as he placed his hand upon his reddened cheek, unlike most of the individuals in Menagerie the boy had been gifted with a Semblance. His mother speculated that it came from his so-called father- one of an endless string of one night stands she had taken to her bed one night, nine months later Sika had been born into the cruel world of Remnant. Were it not for the insistence of the Belladonna family; who had oddly given birth to a daughter of their own a few months before yet offered them a place to stay regardless, he may very well have been discarded in a dumpster so mother could continue earning Lien in deplorable fashion.

"But mommy, I just wanted to…" One look into the woman's hazel eyes would show her lack of empathy towards the boy's plight, causing him to cease any further protest as his own ears drooped low in response to her anger. "…Sorry, I'll go to my room now." Receiving only a slight grunt in affirmation as he slunk back to the small room and sit amongst the small collection of games that his mother had bought to distract the boy, purposely choosing long and story heavy titles in order to keep him away while she "conducted business".

 _"Sometimes it feels like the only people who care about me are the one's that don't exist."_  Sika instinctively knew which game to pop in, his mood mellowing out as he heard the familiar hymn associated with the opening cinematics as his eyes drifted closed. The singers' voices drowning out the loud slam of the door as Mother left to earn the Lien that supported them, the young man's mind unconsciously crafting a field of flowers and songbirds as he felt the hymn guiding him forth.  _"I want to be just like them, I want to use my Semblance to make Menagerie better…so no one has to be alone."_  His mind would continue to craft the "world" around him, the hymns allowing him to stay tranquil as he kept adding buildings and lush scenery.

Unbeknownst to him, day had fallen into night and Kali Belladonna had entered the house with the key that his mother had reluctantly given to her. Her daughter Blake, following closely behind her with paper plates and cups in hand.

"Goodness me, I'm amazed that he's able to move around in such squalor." The older woman would frown sadly as she looked around the trash-laden home, takeout containers lining the floor along with other food-related paraphernalia. "Skarlet, why must you test the limits of my kindness so?" She would look back to her youngest daughter with concern, leaving her daughter standing along amongst this garbage ocean wasn't appealing to her maternal instincts, but she also knew full well that depending on how the morning went that Sika was either completing the at-home study briefs that Skarlet had one of her smarter "clients" prepare in advance, or the boy was sitting alone in the dark with some kind of wound upon his face.

"Mommy, we're not going to stay here are we? It doesn't smell good." Blake's ears would twitch as she heard the chirping of birds coming from somewhere within the house and look around for any sign of pets. "Definitely not a good place for birds."

This would pique the older woman's interests as she strained her own ears to listen to the sounds around her: Indeed there were birds chirping merrily somehow coming from upstairs, but as she strained harder to listen she would catch the unmistakable sound of sobs hidden beneath the joyous songbirds.

"Blake sweetie, stay here for a moment." The raven-haired woman would quickly make her way up the creaking wooden stairs, following the joyous birds to the source of their origin and bracing herself for whatever was to come once she flung the rotting door off of its hinges.  _"God, please don't this be the day I've dreaded for so long."_  With a look of firm resolve she would kick open the door to find herself surrounded by lush green grass and a clear blue sky but what would really catch her eye was the silver tower that now stood in front of her eyes and the rabbit-eared young man struggling to remain standing.

 _"Just a little more…a little more and I'll finally be able to leave this stupid home!"_  Sika would be concentrating hard to construct the tower in front of him, he had tried this twice before and both times had resulted in Mother giving him lashes from her jewel studded belt. "I'll go to a world that accepts me, without having to worry about mommy's stupid "clients". The headache he had been enduring up to that point now seemed poised to split his skull open, his Semblance wasn't strong enough to support the creation of an exit from the world itself and his body was certain to wither away before completion.

:"Sika! You have to stop this now!" Kali would rush forward, the grass crunching beneath her feet as she ran to the ailing boy as fast as her feet would carry her, catching him just as the artificial world around them began to shatter and break under the strain of its creator. "Sika! Sika! Open your eyes!" Her maternal instincts were on full alert as she scooped the boy up in her arms and immediately raced downstairs, only to find not only her daughter Blake but her husband now standing in the doorway.

"Don't tell me..did he actually?" The burly raven-haired man would frown as he looked down at the boy with grave concern, snapping to attention as a frightened gasp was heard from his little girl. "Blake..don't worry sweetheart..Sika's just..asleep." This would be one of the few times he would have to lie to his little girl, hoping against hope that his lie was mired in truth and that the rabbit Faunus truly was just asleep.

* * * * *

The sound of a train passing by would snap him from his hymn driven trance as Sika open his eyes, an echo of a headache reminding him of the memories from before as he quickly skimmed the pages of his sketchpad as he began to run in order to catch the train. "Why would I remember that day now? Sure, House Midori isn't exactly the warmest place..nor is it filled with the kindest people." His eyes would shimmer as he found the page he was looking for, placing his free hand on the hand-drawn sword on the paper and grinning. "Alright..time to kick some ass!" He would leap from the highest point of the mountain, trying to restrain his laughter as he saw the first signs of Grimm helmets that belonged to the White Fang.  _"Ever since the SDC decided to bump up security on their trains, the Fang just had to go picking on_ _ **my**_ _family's Dust shipments."_  He would easily cut down the first goon from behind, surprising his partner as the hooded young man pointed his blade at the startled Faunus.

"N-no way..the rumors were true! You're him, the White Rabbit of House Midori-" He would be caught off guard by a sudden smack to the side of the head by a tree branch, crying out in pain as he fell from the train.

 _"Well, so much for the element of surprise…"_  He would dispel the sword from his hand and choose a chain whip from a different page, biting his lip as he felt the familiar strain from his Semblance. "Thanks to that Broken buffoon, I burned a Charge just so he could make it into his stupid lab!" He would stare down at the whip in his hand with some trepidation and groan at his combat options. "Hand to hand it is!" He would dispel the Whip and sigh, his body feeling the familiar hum of lightning Dust surging through his clothing. "Great offense. A bitch when it comes to static electricity." The sounds of a commotion coming from below the train were enough to spur him to action, kicking his way through the roof and surprising the White Fang members inside.

"I'd give you a witty one-liner, but you guys aren't worth the brain power to come up with one!" Lightning would form around his gloves as he charged in to lay waste to the would-be Dust Thieves, a cold and emotionless look in his eyes as cries of defiance became screams of horror.

* * * * *

The first thing that would greet the freight-hands upon opening the doors of the cargo boxcar were the charred bodies of the renegade Faunus, most of them would be groaning in pain and a few would even beg for help upon seeing the stoic men entering the cabin.

"Seems like our stowaways ran afoul of the Dust charges, I'll call ahead to medbay as well as security. Son #1 you watch these boys and make sure they don't cause anymore trouble." The heavier of the pair would exit the boxcar, leaving the other to look upon the wounded with muted pity.

"Ain't no way our Dust crystals could've made these burns, somebody roughed these fellas up something fierce." Son #1 would carefully examine them for any hidden weapons, shocked to find none at all, but what would be even more surprising was when one of the injured Faunus grabbed onto his hand with a look of horror as he tried to speak. "Man alive, it's a…man alive!" The portly fright hand would kneel down to try and listen in to what he assumed to be dying words. "I can't understand you sir, try and speak up if you can." The injured Faunus would wheeze as he struggled to get out the identity of his assailant, but only one phrase could be heard.

"White…Rabbit"

* * * * *

Sika would watch from the buildings overhead as the local medical team carefully removed the bodies of the White Fang soldiers from the train, frowning as a few would be covered with white sheets as they were no doubt being pronounced dead.

"Shit…I was trying not to kill them." The rabbit-earned young man would remove his hood, feeling a slight tug from the heavy silver piercings lined down his scarred ears and wincing from the pain it caused him. "Damn this hood…I should just tell Kale the truth, that I'm one of the Faunus..but I'm not like the scary ones who traumatized you when you were a child. Nah I kill those guys in cold blood, so not only am I a liar but I'm also a murderer!" Sika would laugh bitterly to himself as he imagined his lovely partner recoiling from him in terror, before his emotions could fully drag him down into depression a brief flash of a young girl with raven-colored hair and black cat ears would appear to him once more.

 _"Who are you..and why does my heart suddenly go crazy when I see you?"_  The Faunus boy would look down to see his sketchpad opened to its final page, where a well-drawn image of a raven-haired woman with cat ears stared back at him. His mind had compelled him awake one night while resting in Team DUSK's dorm back at Shade, and it refused to let him sleep until he had drawn something to help calm his nerves. But what had started as a simple sketch of a random woman turned into hours of painstaking work, and by the time the first rays of sunlight where hitting the dorm windows he found himself staring at that very sketch, with the name "Gwendolyn" written at the bottom of the page in light strokes, as if it were only a temporary name. A placeholder, that awaited her true name.

_"I don't know who you are..but my heart is telling me you're important, I'll find you Gwendolyn..somehow."_

Unbeknownst to the confused young Faunus, a masked swordswoman had been following him since the train had pulled in and he had made his sneaky exit. She had been the first to see the bodies of the White Fang members, but did nothing to help them and instead tracked her prey to the top of the building.

 _"This one is dangerous, but there's a weakness in his eyes…a longing."_  Raven would shake her head as she leapt from the building she had been using as a perch, landing in front of her startled prey with her mask undone. "I saw your handiwork back there..very impressive boy."

Sika would be taken aback by her sudden appearance, her long raven-hair being her most apparent feature and causing him to give pause. "Gwen..dolyn?" It was as if she'd leapt off the page and into reality just for him, but upon further inspection he noticed something wasn't quite right with his raven-haired Maiden. "No…no you're not her!" He would quickly go to unsheathe his Katana when he caught her musky scent upon his nostrils, along with the sensation of cold steel upon his neck.

"You're clever, but intelligence won't save you from getting your head lopped off now will it?" She would guide his hand away from the hilt of his weapon and place it instead upon her armored chest. "Do you feel that, that's my heart racing in anticipation of a kill. It's something that a fellow Huntsman like you should savor." Raven would smirk as she removed his katana from his belt and inspected the scabbard closely, her eyebrow raising as she spied the familiar symbol belonging to House Midori. "I wasn't aware Raidou had a son, then again I'm probably not exactly the one who should mock someone else's family structure."

The rabbit-Faunus would blink as he quietly contemplated her words, afraid to speak with the sharpened blade at his neck. "I'm not his son…not by blood." His mind would start working as fast as he could make it go, wondering if anything he could think up could save him from losing his head. "He and the Midori family..adopted me back when I was eight, that blade is a family heirloom. Do what you will to me, but leave my family's Raikiri alone!"

The raven-haired assassin would contemplate his words calmly, watching his face become a mask of confusion as she felt her heartbeat slow to a more manageable pace as she pulled her sword away from his neck. "Such loyalty to the people who've desecrated you so." Her hands would ghost their way over his wounded ears, finger's gently grazing over the heavy silver piercings embedded in the sky. "And yet that is precisely the reason Carmine pointed you out to us: You've been abused, neglected and, shunned by anyone you've ever dared to get close to..and yet you still refuse to give up hope in a better world." Raven would ruffle the boy's black hair gently before returning his weapon to him, taking notice of the sketchpad in his hand and the drawing he was clutching to like grim death. "She's beautiful, this..Gwendolyn should consider herself lucky to have a man like you in her life."

The lavender-eyed woman would watch as the tension left the young man's shoulders, letting him have one last sigh of relief before knocking him out cold with a quick forearm to the cheek and catching him as he fell back.  _"Forgive me child, but unlike my brother I dislike getting to know my targets. After all, we still need to collect your partner…"_  She would sling the unconscious Faunus over her shoulder before looking down at the sketchbook, a brief moment of pity causing her to kneel down and retrieve it before placing it somewhere safe and opening a portal with her blade and frowning as the rabbit groaned in agony while over her shoulder as she walked through it.

* * * * *

Sika would awaken to the sounds of shouting coming from downstairs, frowning to find that not only was he still in Remnant but his stomach was downright furious with him judging by the loud growls he was hearing.  _"I can't believe I failed..again."_  His stomach would growl noisily as he sat up with a troubled groan, making his way downstairs only to feel something holding him back. "Wha..?" The still half-asleep rabbit Faunus would look back to see his friend Blake grabbing his hand and keeping him from going downstairs, a troubled frown on her face as she gestured for him to stay silent.

"Dammit Skarlet! You're lucky I showed up when I did or else you wouldn't even have a son to argue about right now!" The voice of Mrs. Belladonna would project all the way upstairs, startling the young rabbit Faunus to the point where he nearly fell back on his butt. Luckily, Blake's firm group would keep him steady as she gave a small yet reassuring smile. "Mama was really worried when we found you, so it's no wonder she's mad right now." The young feline would lean forward to listen in as her rabbit-eared companion cautiously followed suit, neither of them expecting the sudden thud that came next.

"Now you listen here  **bitch** , the only reason you're allowed to even WATCH my son is because I'm too busy earning the money we need to survive!" Skarlet could feel her bottom lip twitch from the barely restrained indignation as she glared at the yellow-eyed feline standing across from her, arms crossed in an equal display of anger as the two mothers were a mere step away from being nose to nose with one another. "I was the one who endured thirty-six hours of agony trying to bring that little shit into the world, where were you while I was cursing the piece of crap who knocked me up!? I'll tell you where, you were busy dealing with your own little-" What followed next could easily have been mistaken for a gunshot by anyone passing by the home, even the children had made their way downstairs to see just how bad things had gotten only to find that Skarlet was the one holding her cheek as Kali rubbed her aching hand.

"Don't you  **DARE**  bring my child into this argument you filthy whore! You have a son with an amazing gift that can be a benefit for humans and Faunus alike if you would only nurture it properly. Yet with all the money you've earned laying down on your back you barely give your son a second thought, he gets more of his meals from our kitchen then the minutes you spend in yours!"

Skarlet's face would go a bright shade of red as she digested the other woman's words while looking around the area for some kind of weapon, instead looking eyes with her terrified son whose hand was firmly clenched within Blake's. It was a sight that would only serve to fuel her anger as she slowly got to her feet with gritted teeth as she stumbled to her feet.

"Let go of that little witch Sikyatavo, you'll have no more business with these people after today!" The infuriated Faunus woman would wrench her terrified child free from the grip of his feline friend, even as Blake nearly fell forward down the stairs while trying to keep hold of his hand. The younger rabbit trying desperately to struggle free of her grip even as Blake's father Ghira finally made his towering presence known as he sat up from his oaken chair and stared at the indignant woman.

"Skarlet, while my wife and I may not agree with your choice of occupation..we've always respected you within the confines of your home. I had hoped that you would extend us a similar courtesy." The bearded man would frown as he noted Sika's frantic reaching for his daughter, who responded in kind despite the tension in the room. "I can understand if you hold a grudge towards my wife and myself, but for God's sake do not let the children suffer for our follies. Just look at them, Blake and Sika are so good together…don't separate them just to spite us!"

This would cause the older rabbit to give pause as she looked to her child, the raven-haired young man desperately trying to break free from her grip while crying tears of anguish and for a brief moment her hold on him would weaken enough to allow him enough wiggle room to escape and return to the younger feline's side.

"Say goodbye to your friend son, you won't be seeing her after this…" Skarlet would smile maliciously as cries of protest erupted from everyone else in the room, Blake's father having to physically retrain his wife from assaulting the other despite his own anger towards the rabbit's selfish actions.

But all the indignation in the room could only pale in comparison to the sadness that the two young Faunus shared as yellow eyes met green as they held each others hands before giving one final hug. "I promise I'll find you again Sika, no matter how far away our parents separate us, I'll always be with you..as close as your own shadow." Blake would whisper this as she leaned in close to her distraught friend, gently planting a kiss on his forehead as she pulled away from him as an infuriated Skarlet yanked the boy towards the door by his white ears.  **"SIKA!"**  The raven-haired girl would cry out in terror as she reached for her friend one final time, only to be cut off by her frantic mother who was incensed at the sight of the boy's mistreatment at the hands of the very woman who had brought him into the world.

The anguished Faunus boy would reach out to the very people who had been more of a family to him then his own blood, but their faces would become more distorted the further he was dragged away from them before slowly becoming muddled and morphing into the familiar visages of Raidou and Lavender Midori, his adoptive parents would glare at him with palpable disgust for their own petty reasons as the Faunus girl became a living representation of his sketch "Gwendolyn" looking as lifeless and muted as she was on paper.

 _"They're your only family now, you worthless child!"_  Sika would break free of his mother's iron grip and face the pale, veiny ghoul that was the final image of his birth mother. She had been stricken with Cancer nearly three months into her now public affair with the Master of House Midori, and while they had spent their time in the bedroom he was left to deal with Lavender's withering looks of hatred as well as the abusive pestering of his new "sister" Saki.  _"The past is nothing but a rotted, dried up dream..not unlike how my own dreams ended up the moment the physicians told me that your pathetic self was growing inside my womb!"_  The now visibly rotting Skarlet would sneer in triumph as she watched his anger grow, a hammer appearing in the now-older Sika's capable hands as he readied a massive swing fueled by rage.  _"You are, and will always be the biggest mistake I ever made with my life-"_  With a roar of anger, he would strike down the hate-filled corpse without mercy. Not stopping until there was only dust left where she stood before staring out into the darkness of his dreams.

"Begone you wicked harpy, return to the void of nothingness where I left you. Your sins are not my cross to bear." A familiar tune would begin to echo through the dark void as his teammates began appearing beside him, with his blonde-haired partner Kale wrapping her arms around his waist protectively. "My only family are my team..as well as the little Faunus girl from back then." Once again the vision of Gwendolyn would appear before him, her shaded eyes seemingly pleading for him to remember something very important as she reached for his hand.

"You're always so close, yet I'm unable to touch you." He would clench his fists in frustration as he stared at his creation, her expression would continue to plead for him as it always did. "It's as if I were in love with my own shadow."


	4. Killer Queen

_  
The roar of the crowd is like an addiction_

_Keeping most folks stupid and drunk_

_But for me the noise just helps drown out the screams_

_The terror and chaos that lies past my song_

 

Kale Prisma was a beautiful girl for the hard-nosed profession she was working toward; as a Huntress looks weren’t supposed to high on her priority list and in truth, they usually weren’t.

Except that “Huntress-in-Training” wasn’t the only occupation listed on her black, glossy, gold-embossed business card.

“Ten minutes to showtime Miss Haze.” The blonde teenager’s quiet reflection would be shattered as she glanced over at the nervous stagehand, a boy with a serious acne problem and strange golden eyes that seemed to see straight through her current façade. “Oh, and the boss says to leave that hairpin in the back. Said something about messing with the Glam vibe.” The boy would shrug as Kale dismissed him with a wave of her manicured hand, sighing as she stared at the ornate hairpin resting in a opened cherrywood box before her.

“ _Mom? Dad? Am I really doing the right thing right now, being on tour like this while the rest of the team is training?”_ She would take the hairpin from its resting place and look down at it, her eyes looking at the golden pin with the amethyst resting in the center before standing up and activating her Semblance. “ _This is your legacy that was left to me thanks to those..things.”_ Kale would sigh in relief as her hairpin grew to reveal a gaudy looking ax that was as tall as she was, and yet it seemed like an extension of who she was as a fighter.

Not some glamour bitch.                    

“I thought I told you to ditch that gaudy little accessory, it clashes with the vibe that marketing wants us to promote of you.” Her cotton-candy haired manager was one of those new age business types: She followed social media trends the way that most folks would follow their lord and savior, and was always consulting a faceless mob of individuals that seemed to dictate what her new look should be. “Honestly, you’re lucky I put in so much legwork to keep you in such good graces with these people. These damn horn dogs are our bread and butter, they need to see you as something fantastic and sensual and this thing just doesn’t jive with what they want-“ The minute that overhyped business woman reached to remove her pin was the moment that the feisty blonde idol decided to drop the mask, her hand lashing out to wrench the other’s risk roughly and glowering at the roadies who seemed ready to try and break things up as the younger woman only tightened her grip.

“Now you listen here **bitch** , this “thing” is all that’s left of my mother and father after those fucking creatures decided to raid my hometown and slaughter us all like helpless cattle!” Kale would squeeze tighter, hearing the distinct “pop, pop, pop!” that comes with breaking bones even as she smothered her soon-to-be ex manager’s screams of pain with her free hand. “So, you can take your marketing strategy and focus testing and shove it up your ass! After tonight, I’m done being your little dress up doll!” With one final jerk and twist to dislocate the business woman’s shoulder, the blonde would ensure that her pin was securely in her hair before plastering on a faux smile and stepping out to greet her adoring audience.

“Good evening Vale! Whose ready to dance with me tonight?!” The crowd would roar louder in response at her words as she rewarded them with a loving smile, little did they know that this was her last night as the pop idol known as Kaylee Haze. “I love you all so much!”

* * * * *

Once the concert was over, Kale headed back to her hotel room and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had her mother’s golden locks and her father’s emerald eyes, while she had the grace of an angel on stage that was far from her true self.

“Wait til those goofballs get a load of me once the semester starts up again, I’m finally gonna be able to let loose!” Her scroll would be vibrating intensely as word of her retirement was making the rounds throughout Social Media, no doubt the press was wanting answers for what was going on. “No more stages, early morning press junkets!” She would glare at the annoying device and snatch it from its resting place by the sink and crush it with a euphoric feeling of freedom, no more would she have to act like a weak and delicate flower.

She would spend some time to alter her look, if she were to go out into public as she was, the press would swarm her like flies on stink looking for answers. “ _Alright. Hair dye, colored lenses, scissors, crimper.”_ The now-former idol would set about the arduous task of reinventing herself physically, while letting her mind reconnect to why she had chosen to walk the path of a Huntress.

* * * * *

A much younger Kale would be walking through the sandy streets of Sada’a with her parents: Her father was a mountain of a man with a mane of golden hair and an intimidating glare, ruthless to his enemies, as reliable as a steel fortress to his allies, and a gentle giant to his wife and child.

Her mother was much the opposite: while she was small and frail-looking physically, she was a house of fire and highly opinionated glory. Ashe Prisma was never hesitant to speak her mind and ruffle feathers, stopped only by her husband’s strong hand before **she** could throw the first punch.

“Dear, please try to behave yourself this time.” Graham Prisma would look down at his little girl, her eyes looking around from one stand to the other in wonder at the trinkets and foods being offered. “I know that you have your issues with the folks here, but it’s our little one’s birthday and she really wanted to come here.” The giant would watch his little girl haggle with one of the figurine makers, her eyes set on a wooden puppy that her small bag of saved up funds couldn’t afford.

“I know I know, and I promise to be on my best behavior.” The raven-haired woman would watch on with a worried expression as her daughter became more desperate to acquire her prize, tempted to step in and deal with the bearded sculptor herself before seeing the old man relent with a booming laugh and handing her the wooden figurine. “Unless that bitch who makes those pot stickers shows up, then it’s on! Lousy dreg defiling the good name of food!” Her expression would quickly change to one of the doting mother as their daughter ran up to them with a look of joy.

“Mommy! Mommy look, I got a puppy!” The little blonde-haired girl would hold up her prize, giggling happily as her parents smiled as they began exploring what other treasures that this outdoor market could offer them. The three of them enjoying their time together as a family and picking up the odd trinket here and there, at least until they got around to the culinary stall. “Oooh, smells tasty.” Kale would make her way up to the stall in question to take a big whiff of the various scents coming from the steam trays, the aging woman on the other side of the table would nod passively as she looked around without really focusing on anything. “Excuse me miss, can I have some?”

The old woman would smile and stare in the young girl’s general direction as she reached into the steam tray to retrieve some steamed buns. “Of course, younglings like you deserve only the **best** nutrition.” The haggard old bat would let out a cackle as she piled the buns high onto the plate before passing it to Kale, who was more then ready to bite down into one of them. “After all, we have so little time left in the world. Any day, the threads of Fate may be cut from our very souls.”

She would look at the woman with a perplexed expression before returning to take a big bite of her food, but her mother would quickly smack the steamed bun from her hands with a sudden screech.

“Graham take Kale and leave this place now!” Ashe Prisma would stifle a hiss as her ears twitched at the sounds of mumbling and weapons being loaded could be heard all around her. The diminutive woman would remove her hairpin and place in her trembling daughter’s golden locks and kissing her forehead gently, doing everything she could to keep her daughter’s attention on her. “Stay with your father, keep your head low, and remember..mommy loves you very much.”

The younger Kale would whimper in fright as her father lifted her up into his arms, doing her best to try and reach out for her mother despite the man’s firm grip as he held her protectively and searched for a way out.

“The White Fang doesn’t forgive race traitors such as you Ashelynn, it’s a shame too…such a pretty little thing she is.” The old crone’s voice would become more pronounced and silkier as the other White Fang members surrounded the family with their weapons drawn. “But the Khan’s word is law, and the law is absolute! You and your miserable little half-breed must die!”

Ashe would crack her knuckles and calmly take stock of the situation, even without the Dunkelheit this was to be a precarious situation as she was surrounded by former allies. “The Khan is a madwoman, we were well on our way to a peaceful coexistence with humanity before she took the mantle from Ghira and sent him into hiding!” She took a step forward as the safeties on some of their weapons would click off as the old crone revealed herself to be a snake Faunus with toxic green hair and yellow eyes with serpentine pupils as she removed a machete from underneath the steam tray. “Spare my family, your quarrel is with me Citris. I’m the one who committed your so-called atrocity!”

The woman known as Citrus would hiss as she grinned triumphantly as she signaled for her loyal soldiers to open fire on the three of them, what followed was a volley of popping noises that ultimately bred an innate fear of fireworks and an intense hatred of Faunus.

By the time the shooting had stopped, her father was a lifeless heap above her small frame and the smell of blood and death hung in the air as footsteps were heard once again.

“ _They’re coming back, they’re coming back to kill me. Like they did with mommy and daddy.”_ The little girl would do her best not to make a sound as the muffled voices above her moved about, she would pray to the gods above that they would just hurry up and find her already, so she could be reunited with her family. “ _I’d rather die than be stuck in the same world as these creatures!”_ Kale would reach into her hair and remove the hairpin given to her by her mother, a woman who had been revealed to be a liar as well as a Faunus..just like the monsters who had gunned them down.

“ _If I had power, I would kill them all..the White Fang, the Khan..I’d destroy them!”_ The blonde-haired girl was so wrapped up in her anger that she failed to notice that her hairpin was doubling in size as she pictured herself violently cutting the Faunus into itty-bitty pieces, ignoring their pleas for mercy as she hacked away fingers, toes, even the no-no bits. “ _The only good Faunus is a dead one!!!”_

“Cap’n Carmine, we have a survivor!” One of the red-armored soldiers would look down to see a little girl clawing her way out of a bifurcated corpse with a blood-soaked hairpin tainting her golden hair much to the shock of the men who were quickly gathering around her. “The poor lass must’ve hidden herself among the dead, I pray that that isn’t the body of someone she knows!”

The man who would later be named Headmaster of Shade Academy would look down at the blood-covered little girl, her eyes glistening with tears and a look of hatred as if she expected them to put a bullet in her skull.

“Get the medic down here now, this little one is going to need a hell of a miracle to move past this type of slaughter.” Carmine would step back as the Faunus medic came forward to try and clean the blood from her body, only for the last survivor of Sada’a to viciously attack the young man with a rage fitting someone possessed by a demon. “ _God help the White Fang if this girl were to ever become a Huntress, for she would salt the very ground of this world with their bones.”_

* * * * *

Back in the present, Kale would stare at her powder blue and pink-colored hair with a small bit of apprehension as she tied her hair into pigtails and straightened out her academy uniform and admired her new grey-colored eyes. “There’s no way that the press would ever recognize me after this, maybe I should just catch the Bullhead to Shade and head back early.” She would giggle as she did a fashionable little twirl, stopping when she noticed that the lights had been turned off in her room and pressing herself back against the wall as she instinctively resized her hairpin into Dunkelheit and waited for her moment to strike. “ _So much for “Do Not Disturb” signs, this better not be another fucking Superfan again because there’s no way I’m gonna talk my way outta this one!”_

Her thoughts would be interrupted as the door opened slowly, the now grey-eyed Huntress would wait until her intruder would step one foot inside before slamming the blunt side of her ax and kicking her assailant to the floor before looking down at them to see a white masked samurai groaning in pain.

“I dunno who the fuck you think you are, but you picked the wrong hotel room to rob!” She would raise her ax high to finish off the would-be thief, only to see them disappear through a red and black swirling vortex before realizing that she too was being dragged down into the abyss. “Oh for fuck’s sake!” Kale would experience a slight wave of nausea as she fell through the void, squeezing her eyes shut and praying for a miracle as she pictured her teammates mourning her supposed passing.

 _“That’s what’s she gets for being weak, a true Huntress always takes stock of their environment at all times!”_ Daisy would grunt as she put out her cigarette on the cover of the other woman’s casket. “ _You deserved a soldier’s death, but I guess this’ll do.”_

Urien was up next, pulling at his hair and muttering to himself as he stared down at her casket, his shaky hands struggling to place a bouquet of roses on it. “ _I guess the Maidens Four will look after your weary soul, may they guide you back to the great Lake of Reincarnation!”_ Kale never did understand what the egghead was talking about when he was off his meds, but somehow, he still made a better cup of tea then most Mistralian teahouses did.

 _“I should’ve been there to help you!”_ The sound of his voice was enough to break her heart, the familiar outline of his bunny-eared hood filling her sight as his eyes were red and puffy from crying. “ _I’m so sorry K, we should’ve just stuck together like you suggested!”_ His black-hair was matted and slick with rain as he openly wept over her grave, even as Daisy forcefully pulled him away from what was to be her final resting place.

Kale would snort as she gave the still grieving young man a wistful smile as he struggled to run back to her. “You dummy, I told you that we should’ve toured Vale together, just the two of us…” She would wave goodbye as her grave was lowered into the cold, dark earth and to her eternal rest, only to feel the cold, biting slap of ice water being tossed into her face as she awoke to find herself back in Headmaster Carmine’s office. “Motherfucker!!! I just dyed this shit, it’s gonna be ruined!”

“Probably a good thing too, you do realize that Harley Queen only died a portion of her hair those particular colors, don’t you?” Urien would be sitting at the headmaster’s desk calmly sipping tea, his uniform calmly primped and preened, a clear sign that he was medicated and coherent. “Although considering how your ax is as large as her hammer…”

The sound of a lighter being used would cause the former idol to wince as her leader stood off to the side, smoking one of her precious cancer sticks while glancing at Kale herself. “So, you gave up music for Cosplay, I hear their schedule’s just as hectic.” The teal-haired sniper would blow a smoke ring in her direction before cracking a grin, as if she knew some big secret that none of them were privy to. “Hope that vacation was worth it, because the big chiefs actually signed us up for something stupid.”

Kale would feel her jaw drop upon hearing this, especially since their team was usually the last to be considered for anything other than trash detail.

“Hold still K, I wanna get this sketch of you done before Carmine comes in and ruins the moment.” The pink and blue-haired woman would spin around to find her hoodie-loving partner sketching diligently, a feeling of relief helping to settle the nervousness she had been enduring up to that point as she felt herself smile. “Absolutely beautiful, definitely giving Gwendolyn a run for her money today. And I for one love the new do, of course, I’ve also been told I have no artistic sense.”

She would do her best to keep her smile, even though she wanted to cry tears of joy at finally being reunited with the only real family she had left.


	5. Release the Hounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the team gathered together, their mission is explained

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I regret nothing!

With the members of team DUSK reunited and talking happily amongst themselves, sharing stories of how they each spent their semester break and generally shooting the breeze with one another- or in Daisy’s case, throttling the hell out of the pale-haired schizophrenic.

“You told me that those scattershot rounds were strong enough to down a pack of Beowolves, not just **members** of a pack you addle-brained moron!” The teal-haired sniper would growl incessantly as the other half of the team did their best to keep their leader from strangling the dark-skinned young man into the next life. “You fucking lied to me Uri?!?!”

“They’re a goddamn train wreck Oz, you sure we really wanna use this particular team?” Qrow, Ozpin, a very reluctant Raven, and a visibly nervous Carmine would watch on as the now-former pop idol and her partner finally diffused the situation and pried the other woman loose. “I mean, I’ve heard good things about Team BRNZ. We still have plenty of time to reconsider this right?”

Carmine would let out an audible groan as the four adults continued to monitor the team as things finally seemed to settle back into more cordial conversation as the balding headmaster wiped the sweat from his brow. “Please Ozpin, take these little cretins off my hands! The stress of having them around is driving me mad!”

He would wipe his brow once more before turning back to the window with a sullen expression as the others mulled over his request, it was clear that Qrow was so far against the idea that he was already nearing the bottom of hi flask just to avoid talking about it.

“They may be a group of fuck-ups, but they survived up to this point due to their own strength.” Raven would slash open a portal as she looked back to the silver-haired headmaster with a look of complete disdain, the glasses wearing man would return her glare with an inhuman calm. “They’d make the perfect little sacrifices for you and your little war.” The raven-haired woman would step through her portal with a huff, she had only bothered to participate in this farce to square out her debt with Shade’s headmaster, and maybe satisfy her own curiosity towards Vacuo’s longstanding tradition of “Respect through strength.”

“Please Ozpin, these little shits have made a mockery of this fine institution. I swear to goodness this place used to be a bastion of respect and honor before they showed up!” Carmine’s face would start turning varying shades of red as his anger began to build, his mind flashing back on many of Daisy’s improvised military punishments, Urien’s many science experiments on the freshmen students in an attempt to give them some of the more “superior” Faunus attributes such as eyesight, to this day he still had to pay out compensation from those few who had been blinded. “After all, the word’s out on your latest pet project. You know, the wolf Faunus from Black Vale prison: B-“

“We don’t speak about him!” Ozpin and Qrow would both speak out at once, their expressions becoming a matching set of bemused agreement before nodding and looking out at the group in question. “Let the record show that Team DUSK will be our first act of kindness towards the people of Vacuo, and besides..perhaps with a little bit of polish these four could be something special.”

Qrow would shake out the last few drops of his booze, after the day he’d had with traveling the grueling desert and dealing with problem children that day..he needed something stronger. “Definitely agree with that Oz; as far as things with the “other kid” go, none of that shit ever happened. Not. One. Thing.”

* * * * *

Daisy would be holding a cigarette between her fingers and letting out a satisfying sigh as the other members of DUSK were looking over their scrolls as they waited for Carmine or one of the Beacon banana boys to show up, the sniper not used to being at rest and despite the nicotine currently running through her system, part of her was still on edge as if something really intense was about to go down.

“I think you need a vacation, we’re in a time of relative peace and you’re as tense as a viper waiting to strike.” He would calmly slide a cup of tea over in her direction, frowning as she barely managed to keep it from sliding off Carmine’s desk and hitting the floor. “Your reaction time was half of what it should be, and I’m willing to bet that your muscles didn’t much appreciate the sudden movement much.” The occasional mad scientist would smirk smugly as the teal-haired Huntress winced and rubbed her aching hamstring before casting a prickly glare in his direction. “There’s a reason they call stress a “silent killer” my friend, and I’d rather not have to stand over your grave before the last Grimm is slain.”

“You really believe that we can accomplish that kind of thing in our lifetime? We don’t even know how these things ever operate, and it doesn’t really help that they start fading away after we take ‘em out.” Sika would frown as he worked on a quick sketch of Kale, the latter who seemed more than happy to act as her partner’s muse as the two of them had decided to be somewhat productive with their lull in action. “I mean, it sure as hell doesn’t feel like we’re getting any closer to trimming down their numbers at all. I mean, at least when the White Fang gets ganked there’s actually a corpse to speak of” The artist could feel the grip on his pencil tighten harshly, causing it to snap as he muttered a string of curses as he set his sketch aside to pick up the pieces.

“Wow, I’ve never seen you get wound up about the White Fang before Si.” Kale would drop her pose as she hopped off the chair to help her partner clear up the shavings, glancing worriedly at him and noting the storm of fury in his eyes. “Maybe we all need a vacation, I know I can use a nice long stay at a resort.”

“Yeah, too bad WE have to pay our way miss pop diva.” Daisy would grumble as she put out her cigarette in her gloved hand before dropping it on the floor, grinding it into the precious red carpet lining the headmaster’s office. “Things in the village are tight this year..i just can’t spare that kind of Lien.” The teal-haired Huntress would speak quietly as she stared down at the ashy spot on her glove, even now she could see her adoptive father doing his best to keep the peace in their homeland. Every day he left their home could’ve been the last one, all it would take is some maniac with a gun, or a mook with a knife to take her papa away.

“Boss, you know I can front you the money.” Sika would wince as he felt his rabbit ears twitching beneath his hood, the piercings embedded within were a constant reminder that he should know better than to let himself get emotional. “House Midori may not be SDC rich, but I’ve got more than enough in my personal inheritance to get us there in style.”

“Will that be before or after Saki kicks your ass for daring to dip into your piggy bank?” Urien would sigh as he had experience with having to play field medic whenever the team was out in the field- or whenever his friend had the “bright” idea to go hitting up his family for money. “Not that I’m complaining of course, the nurse says I’m good enough with gauze that I could fill in for her on sick days.” The mirth in his voice was a rare thing for the other three to hear and served to alleviate whatever tension was hanging in the air, at least until the door to the office would finally open, the first thing they would see was the sweating, pudgy visage of Shade Academy’s headmaster Alphonse Carmine.

“Dammit Aikner, the cleaning bill for my precious carpet will be coming out of your precious stipend, and I assure you dearest that you will feel the hit!” The balding man would turn to the remainder of the team with varying degrees of disdain until he finally stopped on the least sane member of the group, watching as the dark-skinned young man calmly sipped his cup of Earl Gray without so much as flinching at the other man’s rambling. “Y-you..you had **better** be medicated you little shit!” Carmine would be seething as he crept closer to the pale-haired Huntsman in training, trying to form his jelly flabs into something resembling muscle mass as he put on his most imposing face.

“Headmaster Carmine; while I appreciate your..”concern” towards my psychiatric treatment, I feel there’s something that you and your great insight has failed to grasp.” Urien would calmly set down his now empty cup of tea and stood up from his seat, the seventeen-year-old tech enthusiast was a full head taller than his senior and made sure that the man knew it before calmly clearing his throat. “Sir, your fly is open.”

“Wha..? Carmine would look down and gasp in shock before turning away and fixing his situation, even while Daisy hocked a wad of spit in his direction. “Good heavens lad! Say something sooner next time, there are women present!”

“What, you act like you have something worth looking at Teach.” The sniper would say this with a bark of a laugh as she watched his face going from an embarrassed shade of red to something signifying fury and indignation. “Now can we get to the fucking point of why we were dragged back here during a vacation?”

The door to the headmaster’s office would begin to open with a slow, obnoxious squeak as they looked over to see a silver-haired man walking inside with the assistance of an unusual looking cane, followed by the same red-eyed drunk who had dared to try and snatch away her precious lighter. “ _Fuck me, of course these mooks would be at the heart of this bullshit.”_

“Now see here you bunch of rejects, these two fine gentlemen are the head of Beacon Academy’s elite.” Carmine would smirk boastfully as he took a seat behind his desk and tapped away at his keyboard before pulling out a small desk drawer and spreading them out as playing cards, the four students all recognizing their individual emblems and tensing up as if contemplating fight or flight. “Go ahead, give me a reason to finally expel you jokers!”

Ozpin would keep a stoic expression even as the headmaster’s antics proceeded to fray at his last nerve, however he would take his time to gauge the team’s overall dynamic in his own way. “ _Miss Aikner seems as cool and focused as I’ve seen her, even now she seems to have turned her sights upon me. A smart move indeed.”_

Sika would sigh despondently as he closed his sketchbook and stared at the newcomers with a worried expression, the one holding the flask reminding him of Raidou Midori’s personal enforcer. “Why are the top brass from another Academy here to see us, we’re the school slackers!” He would ignore the pointed gaze from his leader and sighed as Carmine gave a not-so subtle nod in agreement, the man had made his stance towards DUSK very clear when they had refused to play his personal guard during a foreign dignitary’s visit. “The only reason you’d even socialize with another headmaster is if something really crazy was going down, and even then there are several other teams better than us!”

Kale would stomp on her partner’s foot aggressively, knowing that her partner had a nasty habit of being as self-deprecating as any other artist could be. “Sika, sweetheart. The good headmaster clearly sees our untapped potential and decided to volunteer us for a super-secret mission of some kind. Right, Carmine?”

“That’s HEADMASTER Carmine dammit!” The balding man would glare at the four of them as he fussed and mumbled to himself, straightening out the very papal-like robes that did little to flatter the man’s jiggly physique. “And I would rather **die** then send the four of you into the field! However, Ozpin seems to think that the four of you would be the answer to a nagging issue he seems to have on his plate.”

Ozpin would calmly pull up a seat a fair distance away from the still-flustered leader of Shade Academy and nod in Qrow’s direction, the latter using his scroll to display footage of a fight between members of the White Fang and what appeared to be Huntsman and Huntresses no older than the members of DUSK themselves. “The footage you’re seeing was lifted from the cameras of Vale Harbor, a small contingent of my students seemed to have stumbled upon a Dust smuggling operation.” The footage would continue to play as they watched on and a peculiar red head managed to slice one bullhead in half before dragging a second back down. “Clearly, my students were able to hold their own to an extent, but they were ill-equipped to deal with opponents other than the Grimm.”

Urien would raise an eyebrow as the footage began to loop back to the beginning of the fight, his eyes locking onto one monkey-tailed individual. “Sun Wukong, it figures that he would find his way into trouble. Although I’m curious as to the rest of Team SSSN’s location, clearly the Beacon students could use the extra manpower.”

“Hey. Back the vid up a little bit.” Daisy would frown and look upon the raven-haired girl fighting with Sun, glancing over at the team’s resident artist to see that the same flicker of recognition crossing his face as well. “ _Son of a bitch, it really is her.”_ The sniper would frown as she watched her teammate’s hands tremble, whether it was from the shock of his dream girl being real or the anticipation of possible getting to see her in the flesh was something she didn’t dare guess at.

Ozpin would raise an inquisitive eyebrow at the young woman’s cold expression before gesturing to Qrow to cut off the video, turning to face the four students with an inquisitive gaze as they all seemed to be reaching the same decision without even speaking. “Your headmaster and I have been consulting each other on this situation and he recommended the four of you due to your..eccentricities.” The bespectacled headmaster would pull out his own scroll and show them various clips of their own fights from the recent school year: Daisy using her volgue to cut through the swarm of Grimm attacking her village while being flanked her father and his task force, the wind literally at their back as they did their best to hold the line at all costs. “Miss Aikner, you have a bad habit of consistently leaving academy grounds to defend this same village. You seem to have forgotten that the fate of all Remnant may hinge upon actions such as this, and the needs of the many must sometimes outweigh the needs of the few.”

“You scum, those men were like FAMILY to me!” The teal-haired Huntress would snarl visibly at the man’s insinuation of her being selfish, even as the rest of her teammates looked at her with surprise. “Those people literally raised me since I was a child, hell they helped train me for the Initiation Test! I wasn’t about to leave to rot because it didn’t fit within your precious rulebook!”

Ozpin would simply smile at her heated retort as he leaned forward with a knowing expression, far from being offended by her words he seemed impressed by her resolve to stand up to authority. “Very well, let’s move on to Mr. Graves, you have a wide range of proficiencies that most Atlas scientists would..well let’s just say that they’d commit war crimes to have a tenth of your aptitude.” The young Huntsman in question would simply smirk in acknowledgement of the obvious as he simply gestured for Ozpin to continue his speech, knowing that the other shoe was incoming. “It’s just a damn shame that your illness prevents you from realizing your true potential, no matter how potent the medicine they prescribe.” The headmaster would watch as the smirk would turn into a muted smile as Urien simply smoothed out the wrinkles in his suit before standing up.

“Sir you forget your place! It’s true that my condition may prevent me from living a normal life by societal standards, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here placidly while you insinuate that I’m not tapping into full intellect!” He would slam his fist down on the desk to further emphasize the point, his eyes bright with the slightest tinge of mania in his eyes as he glared at Ozpin as well as his own reflection which shone in the man’s sunglasses. “I have given nothing but my best to this team whether I was coherent or my “Broken” tendencies were at the helm, my friends will back these claims as well!”

Qrow would cackle at this remark, drawing attention to the drunkard who was now filling up his flask with what was supposed to be a locked case, whistling nonchalantly as he finished topping himself off. “Feel free to send me an invoice Carmine, I’m good for it.” The raven-haired man would polish off the remainder of the pilfered bottle’s contents before turning to Sika with a pointed look. “What about you kid, you feel good about working with someone who sees you as a mule?”

“Of course not! I’m sick of being the fucking runt of this team, and all because I’m a f-“ The dark-haired artist would stop short of spilling the beans on what was underneath the hood he was wearing, the room was already tense enough without his partner turning into a raving murderess. “Because I’m financially affluent.” Sika would ball his fist as the piercings in his ears jingled slightly underneath the hood as he felt another twinge of pain, ignoring the confused looks from the other individuals in the room as he stood up. “It’s pretty clear that you idiots wanna shepherd us to Beacon to keep tabs on whatever the White Fang happens to be up to, and that’s fine by me. We all get what we fucking want.”

He would huff before walking out of the room and leaving the two Beacon instructors at a loss for his sudden reaction, the rest of the team simply nodded to each other as Kale reached for the sketchpad her partner had left behind as she flipped to the last page.

“Hmm, I wasn’t about to be nearly as harsh on Midori as I would have been the rest of you.” He would take a sip of coffee from his mug before giving a slight smirk as he set the mug back down, switching his scroll’s display to show Sika angrily attacking onlookers outside a rather spacious looking mansion. “I had planned to be much worse: your friend seems to have some serious temper issues, particularly when it comes to those who sympathize with the White Fang.” The bespectacled man would wince as the hoodie wearing young man viciously slammed a protestor into the mansion’s front gate before turning upon a deer Faunus who had decided to break their sign across his back.

“And why shouldn’t he go after them?!” Kale would glare at Ozpin from behind Sika’s sketchbook, the drawing of “Gwendolyn” causing her already aggressive nature to kick into overdrive as she shut the sketchbook as violently as she could. “Those creatures are responsible for killing my parents, not to mention the countless other atrocities they commit every day even as they hypocritically demand equality!” The blonde would glare at the two headmasters before shifting her gaze to the video, Sika easily spooking the last of the protestors away with a mean look before making his way into the mansion and the video suddenly cutting off.

“And yet you didn’t mind taking their Lien when you were traipsing about the stage when you’re working your little pop diva act.” Qrow would say this while taking another swig of whatever was in his flask while rolling his eyes at the former singer, smirking at the now black-haired girl’s anger continuing to build as he slipped the flask back into his jacket pocket. “But you know what really baffles me? The fact that a half-blood like you could be so damn hateful towards her own kind, I mean what would your mother think if she saw you now?”

Kale would quickly remove her hairpin and enlarge it, screaming in rage as she took a swing at the drunk. “I DON’T HAVE A FUCKING MOTHER!!!” She would snarl and try to press the attack against him, only to suddenly lose her balance and go tumbling to the floor as Dunkelheit went flying into Carmine’s liquor cabinet.

“Nooooo! My precious babies!!!” The former Vacuan captain would fly from his seat to the wreckage of his precious alcohol bottles, weeping like a child who had just been told the unfortunate truth about Santa Claus. “I never even had a change to drink you in celebration of these nitwits leaving my school!”

Kale would slowly get back to her feet, angered that the older Huntsman was now leaning against Carmine’s desk nonchalantly as he crossed his arms. “I am my father’s daughter, I am **human**!” The raven-haired Huntress would make her way past the remains of Carmine’s alcohol cabinet, the glass shards crunching audibly under her boots as she retrieved her axe and shrunk it back to hairpin size. “My father was tricked into sleeping with some Faunus whore, I was just lucky enough to avoid being contaminated by her filthy genepool.” She would say no more as she brusquely moved a still saddened Carmine aside as she retrieved Sika’s sketchbook and left the room, making sure to slam the door on her way.

“Must be her time of the month.” Qrow would sigh as the teal-haired sniper glared coldly in his direction, the others in the room still somewhat silent after Kale’s sudden outburst against the man. “What, she can’t always be that violent.”  

“Then you haven’t done your research.” Daisy would say this with a cocky smirk as she lit another cigarette and eyed the two teachers with contempt, glancing over to see that Urien was doing brain puzzles on his scroll and keeping his observations to himself. “Kale has an outright **disgust** for Faunus, you wanna know why the Fang hasn’t gotten much of a foothold in Vacuo? Because whenever they decide to start up their little operations..” She would point her scroll at the vidscreen that doubled as a window, the pleasant desert oasis outside being replaced by news headlines showing bloody crime scenes and the occasional chalk line.

“I see, it appears that the wells of Miss Prisma’s hatred toward the Faunus run deeper then anticipated.” Ozpin would frown in thought as he examined the headline curiously, the blood sprays would’ve been enough to make a normal man’s blood run cold. “It impresses me that she’s managed to stay out of prison for so long, wouldn’t you say Carmine?”

The balding man would stand up slowly, ignoring the prickling pain of glass shards digging into his knees as he gave a withering glare to the two outsiders. “You honestly think that I would go out of my way to shield a suspected murderess?” He would dismiss the vid-screen with a few keystrokes before sitting in his chair, watching as Daisy returned her scroll to her breast pocket. “Grow up Ozpin, that sort of bleeding heart nonsense was always your schtick.” Carmine would allow himself to exhale, the chair audibly squeaking under the increased strain of his weight. “A fifteen-year-old girl with little field experience, and let’s not forget the mutt we talked about earlier!”

“I already told you Car, we **don’t** talk about that one!” Qrow would slam his palms on the headmaster’s desk, his red eyes blazing with irritation “None of that crap ever happened, EVER!!!”

Ozpin would facepalm as the proverbial bad luck charm continued to rant and rave before turning to Urien, the latter still deftly exercising his mind while the other two men argued amongst each other. “What’s your opinion on this Mister Graves, surely you would appreciate the change of scenery?” The silver-haired man was hoping that the young man was lucid enough to see reason in this madness. “Perhaps analyzing the motives behind the White Fang would be enough to tickle your fancy.”

“Analysis, reconnaissance, support. These are the things you ask from a highly trained, well-seasoned group of Huntsman.” The dark-skinned teen would point to the team files, making sure to go emblem by emblem to further emphasize his point “Headshot. Scalpel. Machete. Wrath of God.” Urien would give a knowing smile as his pointer finger lingered on Kale’s emblem: a musical note with spiderweb cracks laced throughout. “My good man, if you choose to remove us from these premises..the White Fang won’t be facing the blind sword of justice, they’ll be in store for the ultimate DELETION!!!” The flash of mania was enough to put Ozpin on guard once again, but it vanished as fast as it appeared, the sniper behind him would make a throat-cutting gesture as the man digested the severity of his situation.

“So, what’ll it be Ozzie: return to Vale with your tail between you legs, or let the hounds off the leash?” Carmine would smile shrewdly as he produced a fresh stack of transfer papers from somewhere in his desk, the Vacuan headmaster had already signed his name on the dotted line next to the line where Ozpin would potentially sign his. “I have to warn you, they’re ungrateful little bitches the lot of ‘em!”

The silver-haired man would calmly take the pen from the balding man, looking down at the contract with naught but a moment’s hesitation before signing his name.

“Let the record show that as of today, the members of Team DUSK are now students of Beacon Academy.” Ozpin would glance to the sides to see Urien squeezing a stress ball tightly while Daisy simply stood at attention as any good soldier would. “Personally speaking, I’ll enjoy taking your rabid dogs and molding them into hounds of justice.” He would hold out his hand expectantly, waiting to seal the deal.

Carmine would blink incredulously before letting out a triumphantly booming laugh, taking the other man’s hand and leaning in close enough to whisper.

“Good luck, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is gonna bleed into a VERY different Volume 2, which will be written...eventually


End file.
